In 2002 I signed up for the New Zealand Alpine Club’s winter Alpine Instruction Course, the AIC. For anyone wanting to get into the mountains this is a smart move. For not very much money, over the course of three weekends on the mountain, combined with three midweek tutorials back in Wellington, I got a really great introduction to all the main facets of mountaineering. Basic technical skills including using crampons and walking axe, self arrest techniques in case of a fall on snow slopes, placement of a range of different anchors on rock and in snow, belaying, abseiling, roping up for glacier travel and crevasse extraction. Safety measures including assessment of terrain, snow and weather conditions and the use of avalanche transceivers. Basic map reading and navigation techniques. Gear management! I still embarrass myself with silly oversights and clumsy mistakes on that front. And also an insight into the philosophy of mountaineering and the opportunity to meet some very experienced members of its fraternity.

While actually on the mountain during the course I quickly realised that skills learnt inside a cosy hut need to be practised over and over again before they can successfully be applied in a blizzard with all my bulky climbing gear on. The simplest mistake, like having a glove ripped away in the wind, can be life threatening when high up on a mountain in winter. This and all the other insights I gained on the AIC, made me realise that going climbing by default definitely did not qualify me as a mountaineer.

After my first season in winter 2002 I took the opportunity to return for a further two seasons as an assistant instructor. This gave me the opportunity to stay fully engaged with the course curriculum long enough for my head to stop spinning.